London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Johnson tells Scottish nationalists to stop going on ‘endlessly’ about independence during cross-border visit

Johnson tells Scottish nationalists to stop going on ‘endlessly’ about independence during cross-border visit

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Scottish nationalists that there’s no point in talking “endlessly” about another referendum on independence as it amounted to “pointless constitutional wrangling”.

The British leader’s comments come after recent opinion polls showed a majority in Scotland would back independence. Two separate polls published in January showed support ranging between 49 and 52 percent for Scotland going its own way and leaving the UK.

“I don’t think that the right thing to do is to talk endlessly about another referendum when I think what the people of the country and the people of Scotland want in particular is to fight this pandemic,” Johnson said while visiting the country on Thursday.

" I don’t see the advantage of getting lost in pointless constitutional wrangling when after all we had a referendum not so very long ago."


Johnson was north of the border to highlight the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccinations across Britain, but his visit was beset by claims that he was flouting the UK’s lockdown rules that ban non-essential journeys.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said that it had received a number of complaints about the visit. The force was providing security for the PM.

The day before his visit, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon questioned whether Johnson's trip qualified as "essential" under the current restrictions.

On Sunday, Sturgeon laid out a new strategy to hold a second referendum on the independence question if her Scottish Nationalist Party is returned to the regional parliament in Edinburgh in the elections on May 6.

Westminster must formally give its approval to any such referendum, though Sturgeon insists the same laws that created the devolved Scottish parliament give it the power to call a second independence vote.

In 2014, Scottish voters rejected independence by 55 to 45 percent. Johnson has said he believes that result should stand for at least a generation before considering another referendum on the issue.

“The very same people who...go on and on about another referendum also said only a few years ago, only in 2014, that this was a once in a generation event – I’m inclined to stick with what they said last time,” Johnson reiterated on Thursday.

Comments

Duncan Newton 5 year ago
Oooo. That will put the Scots in their place. Boris has SPOKEN!

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×